Jammu, Jan 18 (IANS): The army Saturday foiled another infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir. Just six days ago, an infiltration bid was foiled in this sector.

A defence spokesman said: "At 8.30 a.m. today, alert troops in the Krishna Ghati-Mendhar sector foiled an infiltration bid by three to four terrorists. These terrorists were observed approximately 150 metres inside our territory by our troops, who challenged them. However, the terrorists continued to close in towards our post in the area, following which they were fired upon."

"The terrorists dispersed in the jungle, following firing which lasted for five to 10 minutes. Search operations are in progress," the spokesman said.

This was the second attempt at infiltration in the past six days in this sector, he said.

"The first one was on Jan 13, 2014, and during the brigade commander-level flag meeting at Poonch yesterday, the Indian army's concerns about this unchecked infiltration were conveyed in strong terms to the Pakistani delegation.

"There have been a number of intelligence reports about increased attempts at infiltration by terrorists from across the LoC to carry out disruptive activities around Republic Day.

"The army has placed its troops on high alert along the LoC and this high level of preparedness has helped prevent these two infiltration attempts," the spokesman said.